Nancy Pelosi’s Impeachment Dress Makes a Dramatic Return
Remember the last time the House impeached Trump? Nancy Pelosi’s dress does. On Wednesday, she wore the same outfit she did in 2019.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty
Outfit repeating—aka, what rich people call the fairly usual practice of wearing something more than once—is very fashionable. Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, and Tiffany Haddish have all endorsed the practice on the red carpet. The British tabloids lose their minds when Kate Middleton does it.
Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just joined the club, while impeaching Donald Trump on one charge of “incitement of insurrection.”
This was not the first time Pelosi had to suit up for such an event. In December 2019, Trump was impeached in the House for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Pelosi put on the same black suit with three-quarter sleeves and collar necklace for both occasions. This news was reported by MSNBC and confirmed by the speaker’s office.
Dec. 18, 2019 vs. Jan. 13, 2021: Speaker Pelosi is wearing the same outfit she wore during the first impeachment of President Trump, her office says.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 13, 2021
📷: Saul Loeb / AFP + Susan Walsh / AP pic.twitter.com/eIPf0iydcY
Pelosi said back in 2019 that impeachment was “no cause for joy. This is a sad time for our country.” So her mourning suit matched the moment—and so it does again today.
The outfit also silently injected just the right amount of sartorial drama into an already dramatic day. Pelosi has proven herself a master of such fashion moments, as when she wore that red MaxMara coat in 2019 to meet with Trump over a potential government shutdown (key accessory: Armani sunglasses). The photographs went so viral, and people adored the look so much, MaxMara brought the coat out of retirement.
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“He must go,” Pelosi said today, Wednesday, of Trump. “He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.”
The only thing missing from the outfit this time around: the gilded pin Pelosi placed on her left shoulder, a miniaturized version of the House of Representatives’ mace, which, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center says, “symbolizes order and authority.”
Today, that dramatic accessory had been replaced by a blue floral mask—a real sign of the times. But still, the outfit relayed the same message as it did in 2019: Its wearer meant business, but it was not a day for rejoicing.
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